Ystrad Road, Fforestfach, Swansea, South Wales.
POSTCODE———————————–SA5 4NE
LOCATED————————————-The district of Fforestfach is situated on the western outskirts of Swansea, and found approximately three miles south west of junction 47 of the M4. The track was located roughly one mile west of the town on Ystrad Road.
ORIGINAL SITE——————————Farm grazing meadows.
DATE CONSTRUCTED———————1946-47.
DATE VENUE OPENED——————–1947.
Meaning other sports may have taken place prior to the arrival of Greyhound Racing.
FIRST MEETING—————————–Around 1947.
Greyhound Racing only.
LICENSED OR INDEPENDENT———–Independent
All venues covered would have to be licensed with the government, licensed suggested in this section would refer to tracks operating under NGRC Rules.
INSIDE OR OUTSIDE HARE TYPE——-Inside Sumner.
Please note that the Electric Hare suggested is only a guidance and would have been in operation for a certain amount of time at this venue. Although it is not necessarily guaranteed that it was operational all the time, as other types of lure may have been used and updated as time progressed.
DISTANCES———————————–312, 525 and 730 yards.
Please note that most racing venues distances had become varied throughout the years, the ones given above were at once point set and offers only a guidance to the track size.
CIRCUMFERENCE—————————Dont know.
Please note that alterations at most racing venues throughout its existence would see that the circumference of the track would vary, the one shown above offers only a guidance to the track size.
BIG RACE NAMES—————————The Gold Cup, The Whitsun Cup and the Independent Welsh Derby.
STADIUM SHARED WITH——————Nothing known of.
LAST MEETING——————————-Saturday 7th November 2009, the last race won by Psycho Dory.
Greyhound Racing only.
STADIUM CLOSURE DATE—————-November 2009.
Meaning other sports may have taken place after Greyhound Racing had ceased.
STADIUM DEMOLITION——————–Most of the outbuildings were destroyed in a fire during May 2010, with total demolition happening soon after.
BUILT ON SITE——————————– Ongoing Construction work.
In some cases, structure’s that originally covered the venue after the stadium had been demolished, may have been themselves demolished too, so the one described is more likely to be the one which now presently covers the site.
EVIDENCE LEFT TODAY——————–Dont know.
FURTHER COMMENTS———————None
The second largest city in Wales is that of Swansea, located roughly forty miles west of the Welsh capital Cardiff. It could be safe enough to say that Swansea hosted three greyhound tracks within its vicinity, firstly the one that operated briefly in the village of Glais, then the second one known as the White City, which has its links to the 1930’s, and thirdly the one that closed in more recent times.
The one described in this chapter is the latter, which was found roughly three miles west of Swansea’s city centre, in the district of Fforest-Fach. It may have been constructed during the early months of 1947, on grazing land just off Ystrad Road, roughly one mile west of Fforest-Fach town centre. There is not yet enough evidence to pinpoint its inaugural meeting date, but its purpose was certainly as a flapping track, with the venue being used solely for greyhound racing, except for the occasional amateur football club that used the infield of the track.
Certainly, one of the tracks focal points was the hare control and photo finish tower situated within the infield of the circuit overlooking the winning line, similar to the one at the Auchinleck track in Scotland. Another thing unique about the Swansea track was that the grass running surface, even though it had sanded bends, it happened to be the last turfed greyhound racing circuit to operate in the UK. It ran six dog races over distances of 312, 525 and 730 yards with the greyhounds chasing an inside Sumner type hare.
The track became host to a number of big race attractions, such as the Gold Cup, the Whitsun Cup and the more popular Independent Welsh Derby, normally run during the summer months over the 525-yard trip. Like other flapping tracks across the UK, the new millennium had witnessed a downturn in popularity at Swansea, as the numbers of greyhounds and owners attending the track had dwindled.
Sadly, the venue never quite fulfilled the first decade of the Millenium as the final meeting came on the 7th of November 2009, with a greyhound called Psycho Dorey winning the very last race. The site remained idle for a good number of months following, but a serious fire in May 2010, gutted most of its outbuildings, leaving the council no other option but to bulldoze the site. But even after the site was bulldozed, more headaches lay ahead for the council, as travellers caravans began to occupy the site. As for today, well the site remains undeveloped still under natures control, but for how long, as I am sure some developer will be keen to put forward new proposed plans to build on the site.
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